Agricultural implement.



B. W. BENNETT. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1912.

Patented Dec. 1'7, 1912.

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BENJAMIN w. BENNETT, or .POZPLAR HALL ream, rnincnss .ANNE counrnvrnemm.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. F3, 1912.

Application filed January 29, 191 2. fierial No. 674,092.

To all whom it may concern." I

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN W. BEN- nn'rr, a citizen ofthe United States, resid ing at Poplar Hall Farm, inthe county of Princess Anne and State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Agricultural Implements, of which the fol? lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to hand implements for agricultural purposes, and particularly to a tool for thinning young plants,-the seeds of which have been sown closely and continuously in beds. After sprouting and while quite young, it is desirable and necessary to thin these plants, and for this purpose'the present invention has been devised.

The object of the invention is to provide a small, light hoe or thinning tool for use more particularly-in cultivating spinach, as up to'the resent time no tool has been found suitable orv the purpose, whereby the best results may be obtained, other than an ordinary large iron culinary spoon.

The cause of failure of known implements resides in the fact that the blade thereof is set at a fixed angle to the handle and cannot be changed to suit the individuality of each hand or operative. For this reason the various implements designed for the purpose have been abandoned and the spoon substi tuted therefor because the handle of the spoon can be bent by each hand to suit his or her peculiarity or method of employing the tool. One great objection to the use of a spoon-is the expense attending the same, as the constant bending back and forth of the handle to suit the one who uses the spoon soon breaks the handle, thus rendering the spoon useless.

Another objection to a spoon as an implement relates to the shape of its bowl, which,

having curved sides and ends of short radii, does not 'make cuts of even width in the ground which is desired for the best results.

The present invention provides for the individual wants of each hand by pivotally attaching the blade to the handle so that the blade may be set at any required angle:

and fixed after adjustment against accidental change. For a clear understanding of the invention, attention is directed to the following detailed description and appended claim,

. in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

, igure-l is an elevation ofthe-improved implement. Fig. 2 is a similar viewat a right angle to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view of a detail of the invention. Fig.

5 is a detail view of a modification.

In the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a handle, preferably short and slotted longitudinally at one end to receive the tang 2 of hinge plate 3 projecting beyond the end of the handle and finished with a semicircular end 4 having an opening 5 therethrough in the axis of said end, and a circular series of teeth or serrations 6 surround ing said opening.

A blade 7 of a general rectangular 'form and slightly dished with gently curved sides 7 ground to cutting edges, and somewhat rounded ends 7 bent sharply upward on parallel lines '7 as shown, is riveted or otherwise fastened on the upper side of a metal' strip 8 one end 9 of which projects beyond the turned up end 7 b of the blade 7 nearest the handle; said projecting end 9 of the strip 8 lies at a right angle to the strip and is provided with a through opening llsurrounded on one side by a ring of teeth or serrations 10. The blade 7 is attached to the handle 1 by placing the parts 4 and 8 face wise against each other with their openings 5 and 8 in line and the two series of teeth 6 and 10 interengaging each other. A bolt 12 is then passed through the openings 8 and 9 and a thumb nut 13 threaded on said bolt to clamp the parts 4- and 9 together, the

teeth or serrations preventing the blade slipping around the pivot bolt. On loosening the thumb nut 13, the angular position of the blade relatively to I the handle may be,.

changed to suit the user and then by tightening the thumb nut, the parts are again firmly clamped together.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the strip 8 is there shown as a malleable iron casting, it may however be made of a piece of'strap or sheet metal of proper width, as in Fig.5, the hinged end 9 being formed by bending the strip 8 at a right angle and cutting grooves in one side to form teeth 10*. be made straight instead of ofisetting its serrated end 4 as in Fig. 1.

By making the blade 7 of the shape, or

parallel lines 7 c on which the upper and lower ends 7 of the blade-are bent. Formed thus it-is immaterial whether the tool mgkes The plate 3 may also approximately the shape shown, the width .of the out is determined by the-transverse l Having fully described my invention what I claim as new is An implement of the kind described comprising a handle, and a blade adjustably pivoted on said handle, said blade being slightly dished and having a general rectangular shape with gently curved lateral cutting edges, and a toe and heel bent upwardly at sharp angles on transverseparallel lines, said angles determining the c011- stant width of the cut made by the blade, whether said out be shallow or d vp.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN W. BENNETT.

Witnesses:

T. D. SAVAGE, JANIE M. CURRIE. 

